Chained man 'possessed by female genie'

A 29-year-old man has been shackled in a basement apartment for more than six years because his father believes he is possessed by an evil female genie.

The Saudi man, identified only as Turki, has convulsions in which his eyes roll back into his head and he speaks in the voice of the genie, the father said, according to the Daily Mail.

The father has taken Turki to local Muslim clerics for help but "most of them became scared when they heard the female voice telling them that she was a royal jinn [genie] and that no one can exorcise her unless Turki dies".

One cleric suggested Turki be chained at the arms and legs while the father recite the Koran over him.

Turki reportedly lives in a two-room basement apartment in Mecca with his mother and her three other children.

His parents were divorced before he was "possessed".

"My son became quiet but is totally unaware of what is happening around him," said the father, who also claims once to have been possessed by a jinn when he was a boy.

A Saudi human rights activist and professor of Islamic law Muhammad Al-Suhali described Turki as living in a "semi-coma".

"[He] did not know what was going on around him. He could not eat, drink or use the toilet without the help of others," he was quoted as saying.

Mr Al-Suhali said whenever he recited Koranic verses Turki became furious and shook until he nearly fell out of bed.

He called on government officials to give the family better accommodation and offer Turki proper welfare services.